Fallout 5

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Fallout 5 is the fifth main installment in the Fallout Series, it is a sequel to Fallout 4. Like its predecessors, it is a post-apocalyptic Action-Adventure RPG where the player explores a giant wasteland from Earth's Nuclear Self-Destruction.

The game takes place 2410, nearly 350 years after the Great War, in the Alaskan Wasteland it was the hardest hit part of America and has taken the longest to recover from the Nuclear destruction. The game takes place across most of Alaska with the exception of non-mainland and a few parts of the South Eastern part of Alaska. The game like Fallout 3, New Vegas & 4 retains its real-time combat and in both Third and First Person.

The game has the distinction of being the first in the series to not include an infamous Series staple, the Deathclaws. It has been stated that new enemies will cover for the lack of Deathclaws.

Hue game also features multiple endings depending on how the player customises their style of adventure. There are 24 endings each dependent on the player's global reputation and if they specialise in one of the seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Stats (there are three endings for the player if they didn't it master any of the seven stats), in addition the requirement for each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Ending is dependent on two factors, the stat itself and one of its skills (with the exception of Luck which hinders on the player choosing the Wild, Wild Wasteland Perk).

Contents

Setting

The game is set in the post-apocalyptic Alaska, rather surprisingly Alaska has gotten warmer due to the changed shape of Alaska. After the Great War, Alaska has been hit heavily with it only viable to even survive after 200 years, all the vaults in Alaska had been set to open after 200 years and also made both larger and better equipped, with replacement parts for important components as well as more supplies.

Vault-Tec only placed 24 Vaults in Alaska (3 are not shown in the game while an additional 3 were destroyed), of these only 2 were control vaults, vaults 4 & 79. The other 16 remaining vaults each had their own experiment to test their inhabitants under certain circumstances.

The player has 3 time frames prior to properly starting the game; Sacrifice, Escape & Execution. The player was destined to be a Rogue Dweller, tasked with maintaining the depths of the Vault as well as performing kidnappings under the will of the AI Computer. The player escapes with their older sister who is revealed to have been watching the player's parents over the years and hacked the AI to bring the player to her. As the two escape she hacks the AI causing it to reset and change its personality removing what was essentially the Vault's Experiment.

The player would find themselves in the harsh reality of the wasteland of Alaska, a cold and unforgiving place largely covered in trees which were protected before the war that had since broken free of their domes. The player would find that a large variety of animals somehow survived as well as many mutated creatures and people who now populated the wasteland. Although humanity had lived on through the apocalypse.

The player would fatefully lose their sister however in the settlement that had become their new home, and with no other options the player followed their sister's last will to seek out a man named, Argile. The player would eventually get themselves involved in a plot of an underground society of puppetmasters and their demented puppets whom had been turning the tide of humanity like a game using factions as facades to cover their true plans and the attempt at releasing an incredibly powerful Virus onto the wasteland.

Endings

There are a total of 24 endings for the player, these are dependent on how the player evolves their main seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Skills, these 7 stats each give 3 possible endings, these endings are variation specific versions of the main three endings if the player doesn't achieve at least one of the requirements below. In addition there are 3 endings for the player to choose from if they have not mastered any skills, these three endings are considered the closest to canon and it has yet to be decided which one is the official canon ending. Most of the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. endings enhance these three particular endings in various ways.

The requirements for the option of the three enhanced endings of each S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stat are;

Strength Endings - 10 in STR, 100 in Melee Weapons

Perception Endings - 10 in PER, 100 in Looter

Endurance Endings - 10 in END, 100 in Survival

Charisma Endings - 10 in CHA, 100 in Speech

Intelligence Endings - 10 in INT, 100 in Science

Agility Endings - 10 in AGI, 100 in Sneak

Luck Endings - 10 in LCK, having the Wild, Wild Wasteland Perk

Standard Endings

The following three endings are the most canonical of the three, having defeated Xtaabay, he gives the player the sequence for the Genesis Virus, created from his own blood and able to be used for various reasons whether selfless, selfish or a middle grey area.

First Ending - Use the Genesis Virus on Yourself
The most Evil of the Standard Endings, the player is able to command one of the computers in Xtaabay's Laboratory to create a single vial of the Genesis Virus, in doing so the player gains immortality at the cost of being unable to ally with any Faction and loses any and all alliances with existing factions. In addition the player gainst a +10% Boost to their overall Health and a +25% boost to their AP. If the player has a companion with them, irregardless of the companion (except for Coccyx, Rover, Putnam, Sleet, Oscar and Cassy (as they cannot talk)) will shun the player stating that they could've done so much for the wasteland with the Genesis Virus but instead just use it on themselves.

Second Ending - Destroy the Genesis Virus
Destroying the Genesis Virus is considered the morally grey area ending of the game and most likely the true ending, in doing so the player neither gains nor loses any benefits from this ending and while their companions will be confused they will accept the player's decision with varying remarks. The player can also later insert the broken Genesis Virus into the computer in Xtaabay's Laboratory to confirm that it shuts down, this will give the player a suprise unique weapon known as the "Wastelander" a unique rifle that uses .308 Ammo and deals an additional 15% damage while used outside. This weapon can be obtained in the other endings by hacking the computer (assuming it doesn't shut down) although this is the only way to get the item without such an action.

Third Ending - Reverse the FEV-2 and FEV-3 Viruses
Considered the Good ending of the Standard Endings, the player can use the Genesis Virus to reverse engineer (by using the computer) the anti-FEV Virus, this special vaccination only works on the FEV-2 and FEV-3 Virus as they were derived fro mthe GEV Virus like the Genesis Virus was. As such all monstrosities created from those two viruses will revert to their normal forms. This does not necessarily return them to their human or animal states as some will revert to their FEV-1 Virus forms such as Super Mutants and Ghouls. Most companions will commend the player telling them that the FEV-2 and FEV-3 Virus pose a much greater threat to life than the FEV-1 Virus ever could. If the player is allied or friendly with a Major Faction they will also congratulate the player and tell them that with this new vaccination the Wasteland will become a safer place, the one exception being the Super Mutants who will insight the player on history involving the Master and the original FEV-1 Virus, they will remain neutral about the impact the player has had stating that while they are glad their brothers and sisters have returned back to their normal sleves, they fear the use of reversing the FEV-1 Virus in the future.

Strength Endings

The following Endings are available as additional options if the player has maxed out their STR stat and fully leveled up their Melee Weapons Skill. These Endings like the other S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Endings do not override the Standard Endings and are activated by different dialogue towards the end.

First Ending - Rework the Laboratory into a Military Factory
The Evil choice of the Strength Endings, the player decides that they will convert the Laboratory into a factory to produce elite soldiers, these soldiers can be of a faction if the player has allied with any or if the player has not allied with any faction simply standard elite soldiers. The player can request that up to 5 elite Soldiers tag along with the player or call for an attack squad every half hour in the wasteland. If the player is allied with any Faction that Faction will thank the player and give better prices while trading, in addition the player can use these Super Soldiers as a way to convince other factions to ally with them. The cost however is that the public in general will shun the player whispering about how the player is a dictator among common men, in addition the player will be blamed by wanderers as having turned the Wasteland into a Military State.

Second Ending - Blow Up the Laboratory
In an effort to avoid the secrets of Xtaabay's Laboratory leaking to everyone the player decides it is best to destroy the building, by using the computer's commands the player can initiate a self-destruct. After this the player will leave the building and using a terminal near the laboratory, intiate the self-destruct causing a massive explosion to erupt from the building destroying it entirely leaving only a crater remaining. It is advised the player obtians anything they want from the Laboratory before leaving as afterwards the lab will no longer be accessible, the terminal also shuts down afterwards. If the player has a companion with them most of the the Companions will comfort the player telling them that it's best to have kept Xtaabay's lab a secret as the truth may have destroyed the wasteland.

Third Ending - Spread the Weapons of Xtaabay's Laboratory with the Wasteland
In the Third Strength Ending, considered the good one of the three, the player will acquire the blueprints to all weapons and prototype weapons in Xtaabay's laboratory, after which the player will contact the 9 factions and give each of them the blueprints who agree that the act will give equality among wastelanders. The player can see a general shift in the types of weapons enemies use and allies carry from Pipe to Energy, civilians will talk about how the new weapons have kept them better protected although however this ending will completely destroy any positive influence the player had with the Brotherhood of Steel, the Faction will consider the player a betrayer to all the Brotherhood of Steel stands for and will not permit the player entry into their locations.

Perception Endings

First Ending - Acquire best attributes of the Genesis Virus
The first Perception based ending, the player carefully re-engineers the Genesis Virus acquiring the best attributes of it and injecting themself with it as they only had the single sample. The player gains +1 in all 7 S.P.E.C.I.A.L. stats even if they are maxed out. The player's companion/s will tell the player that they surely could've found a better use for the Genesis Virus and feel disappointed in the player's selfish ambition.

Second Ending - Seal the Laboratory
The second perception based ending and the Neutral one of the three sees the player look through the circuitry of the Laboratory and rewires it to seal the Laboratory permanently making the place physically inaccessible. The player and companion/s leave using the computer outside to activate the deadlock before severing the wires making the computer unusable. While some companions will tell the player that they think the Wasteland could've used what was inside the Laboratory others will believe the player has done the right thing and commend the player on sealing away something so dangerous. The player will acquire the ability to instantly access Novice and Advanced Locked Machines.

Third Ending - Convince the Computer to reveal to the Wasteland the Hands of Destruction
The third Perception based ending and considered the morally good one of the three, the player tricks the AI of the computer to reveal all the stored information by Xtaabay about the Hands of Destruction to the Wasteland effectively making it known to everyone of their presence. This causes Hands of Destruction Death Squads and other units to decrease significantly and a general increase in the patrols of the other major factions. This will boost the player's likability in all 9 factions and the player's companions will often comment on letting the Wasteland know the truth and that in doing so the player has brought a safer future to everyone.

Endurance Endings

First Ending - Use the Genesis Virus to wipe out all FEV Mutants
The evil Endurance ending has the player in assistance from the computer weaponize the Genesis Virus to be used against FEV Mutants using a large aircraft to spray the entire Alaskan Wasteland in a coat of the Genesis Virus causing Cell Degeneration in the FEV Mutants as well as simultaneously hacking the computers in the Super Mutant's Territory causing the vats of FEV Virus in their territory to detonate. Some companions will commend the player stating that doing this has purged a great curse on the Wasteland from everyone while other companions will shun the player telling them that it was wrong to do this as it shows the aggression of humanity, any Super Mutant Companions and Rover the Mutant Hound will die as a result of this.

Second Ending - Shut Down the Laboratory
The player shuts down the computer and seals off large portions of the Laboratory that contain the secrets of Xtaabay and the Hands of Destruction, this in turn allows the player to use the Laboratory as a hub for their equipment and items as it comes with every workbench as well as both a garage and a helipad. Companions can be told to stay at Xtaabay's Lab and the player will gain more experience when upgrading stuff in Xtaabay's Lab based on their INT Stat (1% per INT stat, up to 10% maximum).

Third Ending - Use the Lab Computer to Purify the Water of the Wasteland
Considered the good ending of the Endurance Endings the player discards the Genesis virus and instructs the computer of the Laboratory to begin a filtering of all the water in the Alaskan Wasteland, purifying it similarily to what occured in the DC Wasteland in Fallout 3, as a result the player will be praised by all settlements for having helped make the Wasteland more livable in. All sources of Water in the Wasteland are now purified meaning that they are safe to drink and crops now grown are not irradiated in any way. In addition the player is slightly less likely to randomly encounter Ghouls in the wild.

Charisma Endings

First Ending - Use Computer to take over Xtaabay's Elite Guards

The Evil option of the three Charisma Endings, the player uses the computer in the Laboratory to bring all of Xtaabay's Elite Guards under the player's control. These Elite Guards will protect the Laboratory for the player and can be called in to help fight once every in-game day. The player's companion will tend to either tell the player that they wonder why they bothered coming with the player if this was the end result or will usually remain silent out of fear.

Second Ending - Market Xtaabay's creations to the Wasteland

The Neutral of the three Charisma endings, the player is given the option to market various inventions of Xtaabay's to the Wasteland to seeif they will help the wasteland or profit the player, the player will gain 50000 caps from this ending and some areas in the Wasteland will improve. Some Companions will see this as selfish while others will consider it a win-win situation as the player is both making caps and helping the wasteland.

Third Ending - Use Xtaabay's Lab as a meeting place to create peace in the Wasteland

The last option for the Charisma Endings and easily the most morally good, the player uses Xtaabay's lab to bring the leaders of each faction together and convince them to work together by utilizing some of the technology of Xtaabay's Lab. In doing so the player's companion if part of a faction will be extremely thankful of the player while non-Faction Companions will be more neutral. In acquiring this ending the player will be able to roam through any territory without worrying about that faction attacking. Raiders, Rogues, Chem Addicts, Assassins and Super Mutants will still attack however the Super Mutants are wild and the other four groups are not faction based.

More S.P.E.C.I.A.L. Endings TBA

Gameplay

Character System

The character creation process occurs at the start of the game when the player is escaping the vault with their sister. The first piece of information about the player is their name and gender, which the player selects due to having to enter this information into a voice terminal to get past a locked door. The player and their sister soon reach the outside of the Vault and a time jump of 3 years occurs, the player, now a young adult is inspecting themselves in a semi-cracked mirror, the player is able to customize their appearance in this phase. After which a series of events occur in which the player watches as their sister is executed in the town center for thievery. The player hurries over to their dying sister who on their last breathe gives the player a note. The player reads the note telling them to look in the locked container in the cellar of their house. The player also finds a key inside the note and heads to their house. Inside the container the player finds another note left by the player's sister informing them that the container was only to be opened in the case of her death and informs the player to seek out their one relative, Argile in Anchorage. Inside the container is a 10mm Pistol, some 10mm Ammo, A Combat Knife, Vault Dweller Clothes and a Pip-Boy 3000 which upon activating has the player go through the process of the SPECIAL system deciding their stats.

Through the early segments of the game after this point the player will learn all the basic combat skills; Small Arms, Large Arms, Melee Weapons, Explosives and the new Traps. All other skills do not require this tutorial and are instead learned over the course of the game.

In the game there are 20 Skills, varying between combat, active & passive.

Combat Skills

Combat Skills are as the name suggests, skills that effect how well the player performs with particular weapons in combat. There are 7 Combat Skills; Small Arms, Large Arms, Explosives, Traps, Energy Weapons, Unarmed & Melee Weapons.

Small Arms - The ability to use Pistols, this mainly impacts Firearm pistols although does also have an impact on Energy Pistols, however this is shared with Energy Weapons.

Large Arms - The ability to use Shotguns, Rifles & Launchers, it has a significantly greater impact on Firearm variants, specifically in Shotguns and Rifles in which it is the sole affecting skill for them. In Energy variations it shares this with the Energy Weapons Skill while in the Launchers it also includes the Explosives Skill.

Explosive - The ability to use Mines, Grenades & Launchers, it primarily impacts on Firearm based Grenades and shares the capacity for use for Mines with Traps and Launchers with Large Arms and also shares the capacity for use for all Energy variants with Energy Weapons.

Traps - The ability to use Mines, Nets & Chemical Weapons, in the case of Mines is shares the capacity for use with Explosives and if it is an energy Mine then also with Energy Weapons. Chemical Weapons are also dependent on the player's Chemistry Skill while Nets are purely Trap Skill Based.

Energy Weapons - The Ability to use Energy Weapons, while they have no weapon that is only impacted by them, this skill does have an influence over energy based; Pistols, Shotguns, Rifles, Launchers, Mines & Grenades.

Unarmed - The strength of the player, this only impacts unarmed combat and weapons like Iron Knuckles. It doesn't share any capacity of use with any other skill.

Melee Weapons - The ability to use any Melee Weapon; Sword, Rebar, Axe, Hammer, Chainsaw, etc. Like Unarmed it doesn't share any capacity of use with any other skill.

Active Skills

These skills impact how well the player performs in non-combat situations, it mainly contains Scientific and Stealth based skills. There are 7 Active Skills; Medicine, Lockpick, Stealth, Repair, Science, Chemistry & Survival.

Medicine - This skill directly impacts how well the player can use medical equipment and naturally heal. The better this skill is the greater amount of health the player can recover from healing items as well as how quickly they'll naturally regain health over time when out of combat.

Lockpick - This skill helps the player in two areas, unlocking doors and unlocking computers. While unlocking computers also relies on the Science skill as well, Unlocking Doors is purely Lockpicking based.

Sneak - This skill impacts how easy it is for enemies to detect the player's presence, the higher the skill the more difficult the player is to be detected, in addition, stealth based gear becomes more effective with a higher sneak skill.

Armourer - The player's ability to effectively use Armour can help them in dire battles. By using armour in battle the player will gradually increase this skill. It influences the amount of damage they take as well as their effectiveness in V.A.T.S. against enemies.

Science - This skill impacts a few things, firstly the ability to unlock computers and gather information. Science also can be used on conversations allowing the player to take a more logical route as well as allowing the player to unlock specific upgrades for weapons that allow the player to make their weapons have greater range as well as scattershots.

Chemistry - This skill has an impact on Chemical Weapons such as Stun Bombs & Darts, it also provides some alternate options for speech dialogue and impacts how well the player can craft healing, status & food items.

Survival - This skill impacts how much health the player recovers from food based items as well as how well they craft food and status items. In addition it has an impact on how well the player fights against animal enemies.

Passive Skills

Passive Skills are abilities not-related to the well-being of the player, these abilities also have no impact in combat and generally effect the NPCs dialogue with the player. There are 6 Passive Abilites; Barter, Speech, Loyalty, Wild Child, Looter & Strongman.

Barter - Barter is the skill the influences how much of a discount you can get for buying items and also impacts how much items you have sell for. This is also influenced by the player's relationship with the trader.

Speech - Speech allows for the player to give more persuasive arguements in conversations and can earn the player extra rewards for completing quests or give alternate options when doing quests.

Loyalty - The Loyalty skill has a few impacts on the player with regards to NPCs, the main part that Loyalty allows is that every 30 levels, the player can add another follower to their group, allowing up to 6 followers. In addition Loyalty has an impact on how the player is reacted to by other NPCs in particular Super Mutants and Intelligent Ghouls. By having a high Loyalty level the player can access some extra quests with other intelligent species that wouldn't normally trust humans.

Wild Child - The Wild Child skill impacts random encounter rates, as well as giving the player additional dialogue during conversations. At high levels it allows the player to communicate with certain animals although the higher it is the more random an encounter can be.

Looter - The Looter Skill impacts how many items the player can find on defeated enemies and within containers. As this skill improves, rarer items become more common and items increase in the amount found.

Strongman - Strongman directly influences Carry Weight, every level allows the player to carry an additional kilo of mass with them starting out being able to carry 100 kg and going all the way up to 250 kg (note: certain perks can increase this max carry weight further).

Combat

In Combat the player has access to V.A.T.S. a system invented by Vault Tec that allows the player to use an Active Pause Menu and target specific parts of the opponent. In combat both the player and enemies can have certain parts of their bodies crippled, this impacts them both in different ways.

If the Arms (or attacking weapon) are crippled then that creature will do less damage and is less accurate, in addition, large firearms will damage that user. If the legs are crippled then that creature will hobble around or if all legs are crippled then they will be only able to move very slowly. If the Torso is crippled then the creature will constantly lost health over time, while it is minimal in comparison to getting hit, it also greatly increases the damage taken from further hits to the torso. Finally, if the head is crippled, then in an enemy's case they will be very inaccurate with their attacks and may move unpredictabely. In the player's case, if they're head is crippled, they will lost health over time as well as constantly shaking when aiming.

When using V.A.T.S. the player will deal significantly more damage and take less damage however their weapons will degrade much more with each shot, forcing the player to juggle between Ammo Conservation and Weapon Maintenance.

Reputation

Reputation returns from New Vegas and determins how certain factions and tribes will react to the player. Depending on the player's actions they can gain a positive or negative reputation with a faction. Several Factions have opposite views so unless the player is neutral with both, they'll generally be liked by one and disliked by the other.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

SPECIAL stands for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility & Luck. These stats determine how well the player will perform in certain areas.

Strength - Strength enhances the player's physical prowess increasing their Carrying Capacity as well as their physical damage from Unarmed and Melee Attacks. Some weapons such as the Minigun can't be held by a weak individual without Power Armour but a hulking pile of muscle that makes a Super Mutant cower could probably dual wield a pair of Miniguns (not really).

Perception - Keeping an eye on the target is crucial in battle, Perception allows the player to be more accurate with their shots as well as increase overall damage when using the V.A.T.S. system. A high enough perception can allow an individual to acquire more materials from scrap and natural objects like plants and animals.

Endurance - Keeping oneself up in a fight is crucial as it impacts the player's Endurance. Through Endurance the player's V.A.T.S. usage while sprinting is decreased making it more efficient, decreases the likelihood of stagnation from enemies like Orcants and Super Mutants, in addition the player would increase their overall damage resistance as their hardy exterior would prevent bullets, claws and plasma sinking into the soft innards.

Charisma - Sometimes fighting doesn't have to be the only option, Charisma allows the player to occasionally bypass a fight through a smooth talking ability. A Charismatic individual can Barter for better prices at shops, convince others to follow that individuals belief and even improve the reliability of allies in battle. Sometimes the best offense is a silver tongue (except against Feral Ghouls, they'll tear out that silver tongue).

Intelligence - When one thinks of Intelligence they'll think of a nerdy scientist working behind the scenes without any knowledge of how to fight, well those same people have since been disintegrated by your plasma Weapons. Intelligence influences the player's ability to conserve Ammunition, power of Plasma Weapons as well as the ability to hack computers, a big brain can help save someone in battle, or provide a tasty snack for a Yao Guai.

Agility - A rather underrated skill, in the wasteland, Agility is usually not an option for most individuals as creatures like Yao Guais are just that much faster. A person with good Agility however can prove to be a more capable climber in vertical cliffs, faster runner, higher jumper as well as having more AP overall. When it comes down to it, being able to make it impossible for your enemy to reach you is the best option (unless they have a gun or explosive).

Luck - The last and perhaps most bizarre skill, Luck influences factors from behind the scenes, your luck increases the likelihood of a critical hit on enemies in and out of V.A.T.S., it can lead to better loot from corpses and containers and it also can appear in the form of an unlikely ally at times. A person with good Luck is a person able to turn the tide of battle simply by being there although Luck will only keep you away from the reaper for so long.

Effects

Levelling

Like in previous Fallout installments, Levelling is an integral part to the player's experience. Unlike its predecessor, Fallout 4, the game returns to the Perk System of New Vegas and revamps the Skills set. Each individual skill increases seperately depending on how the player utilizes that skill. For example, Lockpicking only increases when Picking Locks while Traps will increase if the player crafts a trap, uses one in combat or disarms a trap.

When the player acquires enough levels in their natural Skills as well as background experience from battling, hacking, talking, lockpicking, sneaking, disarming and all manner of activies they will be presented with a perk to choose from. Perks influence the player in ways the Skills and S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system cannot. From offering an additional hand in battle to reducing radiation damage, Perks are a curious sort. In addition to acquiring a new perk every level the player will also gain a new point in one of their S.P.E.C.I.A.L. skills every 5 levels, this allows the player to become more powerful in or out of battle. At the start the player will only have 15 Skill Points, enough for 2 in each S.P.E.C.I.A.L ability and 1 extra point. Therefore the player will have a maxed S.P.E.C.I.A.L. no earlier than Level 275. However in contrast the Perks present the player has access to hundreds of perks in the 275 levels.

Perks

Enemies

In Fallout 5 there are many new enemies not just human but also mutated animals. This is due to Alaska having a vastly different climate to the rest of the USA. Fallout 5 returns back to Mirelurks which were absent in Fallout: New Vegas although lacks Deathclaws as they were unable to survive in the colder climate of Alaska. There are Deathclaw corpses found in south Alaska though indicating that they did attempt to move North.

Super Mutants seem to be more prevailent in Alaska as it is revealed in the story a vaccination called FEV-3 allows Super Mutants to reproduce, the Super Mutants in Fallout 5 are generally more friendly to the player as opposed to those in previous Fallout games as they were helped by humans to become un-sterile. However there are small groups of Super Mutants that are still aggressive towards humans.

Ghouls are in Fallout 5 as they're creation was merely dependent on Radiation and People. Many of Alaska's native species appear in Fallout 5 as mutated variations as well.

Enemies in Fallout 5 now come in various categories, there are three defining features; The Enemy Type, Enemy Base and Sub-Enemy Categories. The Enemy Types are the most broad and define the Animal, Humanoid, Heavily Mutated and Robotic Enemies apart from each other. The Enemy Base Categories define Enemies as part of their species such as the three types of Yao Guais which while all being Mutated Bears have different attributes.

The last category is the Sub-Enemy Category, this category is where the bulk of enemy type differentiation comes into play as is uses a similar base to the one found in Fallout 4 with varying differences.

Heavily Mutated Enemies

Robot Enemies

Bosses

There are numerous bosses in Fallout 5, unlike previous Fallout Games which featured relatively subtle Bosses the Fallout 5 Bosses are very distinct from the regular enemies with some being of a species that doesn't even appear in Fallout 5.

Side Questline Bosses

Field Bosses

Item Customization

Weapons and Armour can be customized in Fallout 5, the system allows players to craft particular parts for weapons and armour and mix and match to optimize on the player's battle style. In addition all weapons have multiple variations with a standard version and multiple specialized versions (this excludes Unique Weapons). As in Fallout 4, Weapon Degradation is no longer an impact on weapons and therefore can be scrapped to create new weapons and never be destroyed

Vehicles

Major Side-Questlines

Factions

In Fallout 5, Factions return as a major playing factor, influencing who the player is friendly towards and who is cautious or outright aggressive towards the player. There are 9 Major Factions in the Alaskan Territory as well as numerous Minor Factions. The player can be friendly with all factions but not allied with all factions as some factions have directly conflicting interests.

Major Factions

Minor Factions

Minimal Factions

The smallest of factions, these special groups of individuals are involved in smaller side quest lines that are usually smaller than those found in the Minor Factions and usually give a slight buff to player's who help their causes. Minimal Factions range from settlements to Caravaners, Exiled Super Mutants and fellow wanderers.
TBA

Companions

Chems

Weather

Vaults

In Fallout 5 there are 18 accessible Vaults, as well as 3 additional, albeit destroyed vaults can be found and cannot be accessed. The 18 accessible Vaults are; 2, 4, 5, 14, 26, 31, 37, 50, 63, 65, 72, 79, 80, 82, 86, 98, 104 & 110. Of these Vaults only Vault 4 & Vault 79 are control type Vaults while the rest have some sort of test that was performed on them.

Due to the Great War in which Alaska was extremely heavily hit by the Nuclear Weapons. Due to Vault-Tec anticipating this they built the Vaults to last significantly longer with extra parts for devices that Vault-Tec anticipated would fail at some point. For this reason the NCR looked north to Alaska for Water Chips to replicate the technology.

Vaults

Wild, Wild Wasteland

The Wild, Wild Wasteland Trait returns from New Vegas as a trait that impacts the player's experience of the game. The trait like its predecessor and the Fallout 1 & Fallout 2 Special Encounters makes the game have more unique additions as well as several features that can be regarded as unengaging towards the immersion for the player.

In Fallout 5 there are a total of 40 Special Encounters as a result of the Wild, Wild Wasteland. Each territory of Alaska contains 4 of these Special Encounters.

(Note: More to be added)

APF Territory Special Encounters

The Evolution of Man - Frozen in an underground glacier are a group of creatures that seem to mimic the evolution of man starting off with a mutated fish, then a Radfrog, Coyote, Human and finally a Super Mutant.

Tarhiel - A nod to another game by Bethesda, the Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, a character called Tarhiel can be found along the A-2 surrounded by Mines, he yells the word "Icarian Flight" before detonating the mines sending his body skyward before it lands again.

Doom Guy - The player may come across a dead individual in dark green raider attire, he will be surrounded by several dead Ghouls as well as a dead Glowing One so be cautious of the radiation. This individual has a holotape on him that details him trekking through the wilds and a portal abruptly opens supposedly releasing several Ghouls.

Aliens - Within the APF Territory, the player may find a mother seperated by her daughter by a large Ant Queen, although the woman is capable of taking the Queen down by herself the player can help if they so wish. The line spoken before the mother engages with the Ant Queen is "Get away from her you bitch!" a quote from Aliens.

RCO Territory Special Encounters

Moby Dick - Along the coast of the South RCO Territory the player will run into a dead Orcant with a human wedged inside its mouth. Along its body are a multitude of Harpoons that cannot be looted. The human has a journal detailing the Orcant was being hunted by him and he was going to kill it from the inside as they were having trouble penetrating its thick hide.

The Alien Ship Returns - An old Power Station located in East RCO Territory near midnight is greeted by a flying Alien Ship, however the Power Station activates and electrocutes the Alien Ship causing it to crash, three aliens are ejected from the ship and all die from electrocution.

Mt. Mutemore - One may find that one of the mountains in the RCO region is different in its appearance when Wild, Wild Wasteland is turned on, instead of it looking like the rest the mountain appears to have had its peak replaced with giant carved heads of a four Mirelurk Kings, each one appears to have also been carved with a hairpiece to make them look like the four Presidents of the USA; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt & Abraham Lincoln.

Cast Away - Found sometimes on the beaches of the RCO Territory will be a unique Volleyball with a smiling face painted on it from a hand print. If the player picks up the ball they may hear a man far in the distance (although not visible) yell out the ball's name, "Wilson".

Allied Territory Special Encounters

An Oath of Silence - Another notable reference to Monty Python in a Fallout Game, again referencing the Life of Brian movie, the player will find a body with no clothing (aside from underwear) on with a very long grey beard inside a small hole in the gorund, the body has a note detailing the person's encounter with another individual who accidentally stamped on his toe causing him to yell which alerted the attention of a couple of Mirelurks.

The Food Chain - A cave drawing located in West Allied Territory, it displays a chain of images forming a food chain in order; A Bloatfly, A Rat, A Coyote, A Human & A Yao Guai. After the Yao Guai are several scratches on the wall indicating one had attacked and eaten the artist.

The Beatles - For some reason there is a Yellow Submarine rested atop one of the hills in this area, within it looks rather ordinary except for four skeletons inside, each of the skeletons have colourful suits.

Lord of the Rings - While traversin the Allied Territory the player may come across a pair of skeletons with a single ring on the hand of the leader of the pair. The Ring is known as "The Other Ring" and gives +2 PER & CHA but -1 LCK

CAF Territory Special Encounters

The Coyote in the Hat - Somewhere in central CAF Territory is a Coyote wearing a Red and White Top Hat, it is possible to loot the hat from the Coyote's body. What is unique aside from the reference to the Cat in the Hat is that the Coyote is Black and White unlike every other Coyote which are various shades of Grey or Brown.

Chuck Norris - A Skeleton found in Southern CAF Territory shows a skeleton of a man with the beard still in tact, beneath the beard oddly is a third skeletal arm however no other human skeletons are in the vicinity. Surrounding the skeleton are 5 dead Super Mutants possibly indicating the Skeleton defeated the Super Mutants before succumming to his injuries.

Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen - Along the coast the player will run into a Unique Mirelurk with this name, the Mirelurk is tougher than a regular Mirelurk however once defeated it yields the unqiue hat "The No.1". This is a reference to Spongebob Squarepants and an episode involving the ownership of said hat. The Hat itself grants the player 10% better prices at Vendors and a 5% better success rate on Speech Checks.

The Dunwich Horror - Back again for the third Fallout Game, the Dunwich Horror theme returns in the minor location, Dunwich Diggers, a Graveyard and Funeral Business owned by the same company from Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. Like its predecessors the Dunwich Diggers has ominous shaking, noises and a large amount of Feral Ghouls located within it while at the bottom containing Whateley's Robe a unique dress that gives the player -20% Damage against Heavily Mutated Enemies.

Resident Evil - In an unmarked bunker there is a female raider trying to open said bunker wearing surprisingly Pre-War Clothing, if the player gets close enough to hear her they'll eventually hear her say "Master of Unlocking, what a load of shit", obviously referencing Barry Burton's claim that Jill Valentine is the "Master of Unlocking", it should be noted if the player is wearing this Raider's attire when they encounter any male Raider there is a chance the Male Raider will say "Did you kill Jill? No, She's still out there, I just know it" confirming the Female Raider to be Jill and also referencing a line spoken by the player's character early on in Resident Evil.

NUT Territory Special Encounters

88 mph - Found on a stretch of road are a flaming pair of tire tracks that slowly dwindle, in the middle of them is a Number Plate that has a Barcode on it, this references the first Back to the Future Movie in which when testing Doc Brown's time machine, the Delorean used created flaming tire marks and had its number plate fall off.

Tracey's Head - Randomly generated in NUT Territory is a small box, within the small box is the severed head of a person called Tracey, the head can be looted for some pre-war clothing and pre-war cash.

Red Sleigh - Somewhere in the Snowy hills of the NUT territory is a partly destroyed red sled, the area is slightly radioactive and there are 8 Radstag skeletons and a human skeleton surrounding it, the sled always contains loot that is of high rarity. In addition there is a nearby Glowing Radciervo. This is all a reference to Santa with the Glowing Radciervo being a nod to Rudolph.

United Khans Territory Special Encounters

The Room - Found near a destroyed building are four bodies each wearing Formal Dinner Wear clothing as well as a single football. This is in reference to the movie the Room in which one scene where the main protagonist and three of his friends are playing with a Football before his wedding.

The First Rule - Found in an abandoned Studio are 16 dead bodies and a Super Mutant, it would appear the Super Mutant used the human bodies to smear the words "Do not talk about Fight Club" in blood on one of the walls. All of the bodies have lootable Unarmed weapons including the Super Mutant who is one of the few Super Mutants not to use a Rebar Club or Ranged Weapon.

Spaceball 1 - Buried in the ground is the rear end of a massive ship, there is a bumper sticker on the back of the ship that says "We Brake for Nobody", outside of the ship are three skeletons, one has a suit, one has a random faction's armour and the third has a unique Helmet called "The Dark Helmet". These are all references to the movie, Spaceballs. The Dark Helmet decreases the player's Perception, Endurance & Charisma by 1 although increases the player's Strength, Charisma & Agility by 2.

Siren Territory Special Encounters

The Illuminati & Dark Brotherhood - Spray Painted on one of the derelict buildings in East Siren Territory is a Green Triangle with an eye at the top, in addition in the middle of the Triangle is a Super Mutant sized hand print in red and written nearby, the words "We know". This references both a group known as the Illuminati and an organization in Bethesda's other franchise, The Elder Scrolls known as the Dark Brotherhood. The reason behind both of their symbols appearing together is likely due to the mystery and conspiracy theories linked to both of them.

Jason and the Argonauts - Rather oddly placed is a small wooden ship that has been lodged into a ridge in West Siren Territory. This ship is guarded by a Mirelurk Queen to the West and half a dozen Cliff Sirens to the East. Within the ship the player will find the unique Legionary Armour identical to the armour of Caeser's Legion from Fallout: New Vegas.

The Iron Man - The player may come across this dead individual in Power Armour in the Siren Territory, the Power Armour keeps the body in place although the Body can be ejected. Inside the Power Armour is a man in a suit wearing Sunglasses. The Suit is unique in that it is a T-68 Power Armour, is Bright Red and Gold and also possesses the Jetpack upgrade immediately. The suit also has the unique bonus of using Fusion Cores 25% more slowly than normal T-68 Power Armour. This suit and the individual inside are a reference to Iron Man, A.K.A. Tony Stark, The T-68 Power Armour was likely chosen as it is the sleekest Power Armour in design making it appear closer to the modern appearance of Iron Man.

BSG Territory Special Encounters

YOLO - Found near a cliff in BSG Territory is a dead BSG recruit his body is lootable however by climbing to the top of the cliff the player will find a broken bungie cord and a note reading "You only live once".

The Blair Witch Project - Found within some forested area in South BSG Territory are a group of dead wanderers, one of which is carrying a note stating that they were looking for a mysterious glowing creature sighted in the woods and were going to document it. If the player is in the woods at night however, they will instead find a uniquely powerful Glowing One who has a more feminine body than most Glowing Ones.

Red Shirts - The player may, while exploring this area of Alaska, come across three dead bodies, all of them have Red Uniform Suits on and one has a holotape which replays the events leading to their death. The holotape reveals all three of them were killed by a single measley Radroach. This is a reference to the original Star Trek and its tendency to kill off minor characters wearing Red Shirts, the shirts are lootable and each decrease the player's Luck by 1 but increase the player's Perception, Charisma and Intelligence by 1.

Super Mutant Territory Special Locations

Frank Horrigan - Not to be confused with the actual boss fight in the Main Storyline, there is a Super Mutant located in West Super Mutant Territory that has died with parts of his body compressed into Enclave Armour. This is a clear nod to the Fallout 2 Final Boss Frank Horrigan, a Super Mutant that had been equipped with unique Enclave Power Armour to enhance his body and maintain it from deteriorating.

Peter vs. Ernie - Another obtainable piece of clothing only possible through the Wild, Wild Wasteland Trait. The player will find two Super Mutants, one dressed in the Chicken Suit fighting each other on top of a train, the player may watch the two duke it out and fight off the winner or intervene part way through. Regardless, this is a reference to a running gag in the show, Family Guy in which the character Peter Griffin fights a Giant Chicken, named Ernie due to him being given an expired Coupon. The player can loot said Expired Coupon from the Non-Chicken Costume Super Mutant.

Death by Snoo Snoo - The player will usually find two dead human skeletons and a dead Glowing Seared Lion near the Super Mutant settlements. Both skeletons lack their pelvic bones, in addition the player will encounter a unique trio of enemies called the Amazon Mutants; Thog, Kug & Ornik. This is a reference to Futurama, specifically the episode, "Amazon Women in the Mood". The two skeletons would logically be Phillip J. Fry & Captain Zapp Brannigan while the Glowing Seared Lion would indicate Kif Kroker.

NCR Territory Special Locations

Team America - Found in South-East NCR Territory, the player will find a jeep that has crashed into a Billboard sign with five men inside, one dressed as an NCR Veteran Ranger, one as a BSG Survivalist, one as a CAF Flamer, one as an RCO Plasma Guard and one as a Supreme United Khans Raider. There is a note on the Hood of the Jeep that reads "America! Fuck Yeah!", the jeep also has within its trunk 50 sticks of Dynamite.

Giant Stone Hand - A Nod to a Special Encounter in Fallout 2, this giant Stone Hand appears to be trying to pry itself out of the ground. Approaching the hand the player is may see a computer hooked up to seemingly nothing except the ground, accessing the comptuer allows the player to speak to an unknown entity, they will claim to be the Chosen One, to which the hand raises from the ground and waggles in place, the unknown entity replies that they've heard that one before and aren't about to fall for that again.

That! - The player will find in East NCR Territory a Fire Ant Nest, delving inside they'll find a single giant Fire Ant Queen as well as numerous NCR Soldier's bodies. This is the second reference in Fallout to the 1954 Film, Them!, the first being the Quest "Those!" from Fallout 3

Trivia

Deathclaws are absent from this game due to the climate of Alaska in Fallout 5, there are Deathclaw bodies that can be found indicating that the creatures did attempt to spread up North or were trying to escape to the South.

While this still remains true, there is one boss that is in fact a Deathclaw, they are only fought once and are heavily mutated

Unlike previous Fallout Games, none of the Factions are the Primary Antagonist although some impede the player's progression while others help the player progress. The CAF are the most directly linked to the main storyline as they are involved with the FEV-3 Virus and the group known as the Silver Hand. The NCR, RCO, APF & NUT Factions only play minimal roles in the Main Storyline and are a more major focus in the Main Sidquests.

The NCR are technically the only returning faction from previous Fallout Games.

The United Khans are the Fourth rendition of the Khans to appear in the Fallout Series

The Chinese Armed Forces are the Second Chinese Military force to appear in the Fallout Series.

Fallout 5 features the largest Map of all Fallout Games although Alaska itself is not larger than the area Tactics took place in.

This is the first time Vault-Tec characters directly appear in the games (aside from the Vault-Tec Employee in Fallout 4 who appeared Pre-War) with the four Brains of Vault-Tec and Vault 110. As it is revealed, Vault-Tec had been testing humanity, not torturing them and they have come to the belief that pretty much every faction that has risen to power throughout Fallout's history was doomed to collapse and states that it's only a matter of years before the NCR collapses.

Vault 2 is currently the lowest numbered Vault to appear in the Fallout Games, with only Vault 1 which Vault-Tec states in game is located in Hawaii and was going to be their base of operations but they decided it would get too distracting.

The Quests; "Something for Everybody" and "Pot Luck" are named from two Elvis Presley Albums, this makes sense as it involves The Kings, a faction of Elvis impersonators

Coccyx, the default name for the player's Dog Companion is the name for the Tailbone

Dr. Grant and the Quest, "Quadrant 86" are a reference to Jurassic Park, Quadrant 86 was the paddock number for the T-Rex

Linious and the Quest, "McGee Airways" is a reference to Alaska Airlines and their origins in the 1930s as McGee Airways began with Linious "Mac" McGee, the quest further references this by having the player find parts to make a plane and the completed painted with the words "McGee Airways" on them

Georgie is a reference to George Vancouver and early explorer of Alaska

William and his respective Quest "The Gulf Headtakers" are a reference to 20th Century Radio Personality, William Penn Adair Rogers and his Radio Show, The Gulf Headliners

Grum and Tani, two companions of the player as well as the other individuals involved in the Five-Part Questline "The Taming of the Coyote" heavily reference William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Grum and Tani are references to the characters; Grumio & Tranio, servants of Petruchio & Lucentio respectively

Katie and her Quest "Lost to the Ages" are a direct reference to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim's expansion pack, Dawnguard and a quest of the same name and the character, Katria

279, the Sentry Bot is a reference to the Experimental Russian Tank, Object 279

Richter and Vei are references to methods of measuring two natural disasters; Earthquakes and Volcanoes repsectively

Sievert is the name of a unit related to radiation

Emtoay is a reference to a US Flamethrower, the M2A 1-7

Putnam and the Quest "It came from Anchorage!" are references to the 1953 film, It came from Outer Space

Sleet's name comes from a weather effect where it both rains and snows as the snow partially melts as it falls

Oscar and Cassy, two companion Radgles are references to the largest birds on the planet, the Ostrich and Cassowary, neither bird are found in North America however

Dex and Syn's names are references to "Computer Index" and "Syntax"

Gallery

A Map of the game with Vaults, Cities and Major Places of Interest (Minor Places of Interest are not Shown)